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TORONTO (AP) -
Ichiro Suzuki
has been a Gold Glove outfielder every season since joining Seattle in 2001. That's why a play he didn't make was all everyone
was talking about after the Mariners' sixth consecutive loss.
Joe Inglett
's lined a two-run single off the right fielder's glove with the bases loaded in the 10th inning to give the
Toronto Blue Jays
a 5-4 victory Friday night.
''Normally you expect (Suzuki) to catch that ball,''
Blue Jays
manager
Cito Gaston
said. ''Thankfully, he didn't.''
Suzuki felt he should have had Inglett's two-out drive.
''I have to catch it, because it touched my glove,'' Suzuki said through a translator.
Seattle took a 4-3 lead on
Jeremy Reed
's RBI single in the top of the 10th, but
Mark Lowe
(1-4) couldn't nail down the win.
Gregg Zaun
led off the bottom half with a single to center and was safe at second when Lowe threw high on
John McDonald
's sacrifice. Zaun was forced out at third on
Scott Rolen
's bunt and
Adam Lind
flied out, but
Brad Wilkerson
walked to load the bases before Inglett jumped on a first pitch changeup and lined the game-winner to right.
''It was a good pitch,'' Lowe said. ''It looked like he was kind of sitting on it. Either way, I thought for sure it was an
out. The way Ichiro was going back on it, it looked like he was going to have it.''
Seattle dropped to 1-6 since the All-Star break, but manager Jim Riggleman didn't fault Ichiro for coming up short.
''(Inglett) hit the heck out of it,'' Riggleman said. ''It's just a tough play. If it's a fly ball, you're on it, but when
it's a line drive with top spin on it, it's a tougher play. (Suzuki) gave it everything he had and just didn't catch it.''
Suzuki, who has a combined 2,995 hits between the major leagues and the Japanese League, went 0-for-5 with a strikeout. Suzuki
has 1,717 hits for Seattle.
Jesse Carlson
(3-1) earned the win despite allowing the go-ahead run in the top of the 10th.
The Mariners have lost 12 of 15 overall, while Toronto (52-51) moved back above .500 for the first time since June 13, when
they were 35-34.
''We're starting to play the way we're supposed to play, get big hits, make big plays and make big pitches,'' said Inglett,
who finished 1-for-5 with three RBIs. ''We still have an opportunity to do some damage in this division. We're not far back.
Hopefully we'll build on this.''
Seattle took a 1-0 lead on
Kenji Johjima
's RBI double in the second, but
Matt Stairs
tied the game in the bottom half with a solo homer, his team-leading 10th.
It took 103 games for Toronto to get its first double-digit home run hitter. The only other time the
Blue Jays
waited this long for a batter to reach double figures was 1981, when
John Mayberry
hit his 10th homer in the team's 116th game.
The Mariners went back in front with a two-run third against Toronto starter
John Parrish
.
Willie Bloomquist
singled and scored on
Adrian Beltre
's two-out double, and
Jose Lopez
followed with a run-scoring single.
Toronto cut it to 3-2 in the bottom of the inning when Lind doubled and scored on Inglett's RBI grounder.
Cesar Jiminez replaced starter
Miguel Batista
after
Lyle Overbay
walked with one out walk in the sixth. He struck out
Rod Barajas
but gave up a double to Stairs.
Roy Corcoran
came on and struck out Rolen.
Toronto tied it at 3 in the eighth against J.J. Putz. Overbay doubled, went to third on Barajas' single and scored on a base
hit by Stairs.
Batista allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1-3 innings. He walked two and struck out two.
''He was fine, he was just gassed,'' Riggleman said. ''I asked him and he was honest with me, he said 'I'm pretty tired.'''
Parrish gave up three runs and seven hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out one.
Notes: Seattle RHP
Carlos Silva
, who left his last start after three innings with a stiff lower back, will not face Toronto on Saturday as scheduled. RHP
R.A. Dickey will start in place of Silva, whose next outing will come Tuesday at Texas. ...
Blue Jays
OF
Vernon Wells
(strained hamstring) took batting practice for the first time since injuring his left leg July 9. ... Toronto 2B
Aaron Hill
(concussion), who has not played since colliding with teammate
David Eckstein
on May 29, played catch before batting practice. He is still sidelined indefinitely. ...
Blue Jays
OF
Shannon Stewart
(right ankle) went 2-for-2 in his first rehab game with class-A Dunedin. ... Former
Blue Jays
2B
Roberto Alomar
attended the game.
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